Condenser tube protector



Dec. 24, 1940. 1; BAY 2,225,615

coNDENsER TUBE PROTECTOR Filed Jan. 8, ,1940

/////////////f/////// I l f l INVENTOR THaMAs J. BAY y Patented Dec 24, 1940` UNITED STATES CONDENSEB. TUBE PROTECTOR Thomas J. Bay, United States Navy Application January 8, 1940. Serial No. 312,941

3 Claims.

FEB 17'1942? (Granted under the act of 'March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) This invention relates to condenser tubes and it has o particular relation to inserts for preventing the corrosion of the tubes adjacent to their inlet' ends by the Water passing therec through. l

Modern condenser design makes use of high 4Wetter velocities in the condenser tubes in order to secure improved heat transfer rates of the cool- A 'lng surface and thereby reduce the size o the unit g@ required for a given heet lood. These high Wa.-

ter velocities cause the early failure of the inlet ends of the condenser tubes due to lmpingement erosion end electro-chemical corrosion of the tube material. This uctlon is especially. severe in g5 condensers employing tubes which ere rolled and expended into the' condenser header plates, es the cold. Working of the tube materiel at the lnlet end of the tube serves to Weel-:en it structurelly and produce fatigue so that its resistance to to the destructive forces imposed by the high velocity of the weiter entering the tube is reduced.

, llhese disedveutogcs were overcome by constructing the protectors or" soft rubber. es els- 'closed in my Potent No. 2,153,107, granted Mov 9, i939, out come dimculty nos been experienced in inserting the protectors in the inlet ends ol the condenser tubes. cults nos ceused by the :lect that types of cemento adequate to properly secure the protectors in position would @nl freeze to the motel of the tulle edietely upon contact therewith, with the result that the soft sectorielof the protector would buckle ln sttemptlnc to torce it into its el position Within the tuoe. When it is considered tiret s modern eci surfece condenser contelns several thousond tubes, eoch ol which must he equipped with o protector, the delos? occasioned5 by the alcove mentioned Vfreezing; end buckling will immedietely, ce concreet.

The principal object o the present invention is the provision oi e condenser tube insert heving not only improved imnineement erosion and electrochemicel corrosion resisting cnerecterstics over the protector which is the subject of my en; above mentioned, potent lout which is relatively rigid sind sellsupporting;v longitudinally and cc,- poble of beine; Quickly ond easily positioned in the inlet end of o condenser tube with e.. light drive nt even. when coated with cement.

Another object of the invention is the provision of o condenser tube protector of thechereclier described which is fabricated from e thermo-setting inlusitle meterlel such es o phenol-'formeldehyde product, or herd mhlcer having the proper percentoce ol sulphur and cepeole of withstanding the relatively high temperatures encountered without softening.

A further and importent object of the invention is the provision of a protector insert fabricated from a phenolic materiel of the thermo-setting l5 type which may be secured in a. condenser'tube with a. drive iit and which has the additional function o also being capable of use with e thermo-setting cement if so desired, that is to gente. cement which sets only when subjected to l@ With these and other objects' in View, as Well es other advantages that may be incident to the use of the improvements, the invention consists in the parte and combinations thereof hereinle after set forth oud claimed, with the understanding that the several necessary elements co'nstitutlng the seme may be varied in proportion end erronsement without departing from the nature and scope of the invention, as defined. in fr the appended claims.

In orcler to maken' the invention more cleerl understood, there ore sho in the accompanying drawing, ineens for carrying the invention into procticol use, without limiting the improvements es .in their useful application to the particular construction, wlilch, :for the purpose of explanation, have been mede the subject of illustration.

ln tide accompanying drawing:

Fic. l is en end elevotionel view of o. condenser co tube protector constructed in accordance with the present invention, end

ll'ig. 2 le s longitudinal sectional View token on line l--li ol Elle. l.

Referring to the drewins. e condenser tube it ggg is shown es telus secured in e header plete ll of e surface condenser, the outer or inlet end of the tube seine dared es indiceted et l2. A tubular corrosion protector Sti fabricated from e. mc.- teriel whichI is chemically inert with respect to a the instel of the tulle end header plete, such es phenol-formaldehyde, or herd rubber having the proper proportion ol sulphur, is secured within the inlet end ol.' the condenser tube l@ by cement. The outer end o the protector l@ is ered and curved inwardly es ot ll, so es to enclose the outer nosed end l2 or the tube so es to eectively seal the juncture `of the tube ond plate against any electro-chemical cction of the Water `or other electrolyte passing throughtloe tube. The pro- 5@ tector t3 is contoured so es to provide o restricted throat lli ond itslnternnl diameter increases lnwerdlr until it merges with the outside wall of the protector, thus forming a, feathered inner edge. The contour oi the throat lo corresponds g5 substantially to the contraction and enlargement of a stream of water passing through an oriiice, thereby minimizing turbulence and the-.liberation of air from the water and also eliminates impingement erosion and friction loss in the jet of water entering the tube.

In assembly, the faying surfaces of the tube and the protector are coated with a- .suitable cement and the protector tapped into its seating position within the tube, the exterior diameter of the protector being such as to provide a light drive iit. The relatively thin wallfof the protector is suiciently exible in a radial direction to conform to the crossfsectional contour of the tube I0 in the event that the latter is slightly out lof round but the protector is sucientiy rigid or self-supporting in a longitudinal direction to prevent buckling when the tacky `cement contacts `with and freezes to the wall o the tube i0.

A protector insert molded from phenol-formalthe protectors may be inserted in all of the tubes l and then live steam admitted to the vapor space oi' the condenser', the neat oi the steam setting the cement of all of the protectors at the same time. This type of cement cannot, however; be used successfully with soit rubber protector inserts which require the tacky, selfsettir1g cement hereinbeore described. A protector insert abri cated from bard rubber having the proper sulphur content may, however, be used with 'a t. errno-setting cement if desired.

` From the 'foregoing it A:Jill be apparent that a protector insert is provided that possesses all oi the advantages of the protector disclosed ln my aforesaid patent and at the same time one ci a type that may quickly and easily be applied to the many tubes oi e. surface condenser by unskilled labor and 'with a material saving in time and exmnse.

It will be understood that the above description tion, proportion and arrangement of'the parts may be made within the scope of the appended claims without sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

vThe invention described herein may be manufactured and/or used by or forthe Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes Without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

. l claim:

` 1. Means for protecting from corrosion and erosionthe inlet end of a tube extending through a header plate of a surface condenser comprising a tubular insert of substantially inus'ible, thermo-setting material which is resistant to corrosion and capable of retaining its initial hardness in the presence or salt water and heat, said insert having sufcient longitudinal rigidity to permit it to be forced into the inlet end of said tube and sumciently deformable radially to 4closely con-` form to irregularitiesv in the cross-sectional contour thereof, for absorbing the impact of media entering said tube.

2. Means for protecting from corrosion and erosion the inlet end or a tube extending through a header plate of a surface condenser comprising a tubular insert of phenolic material of fthe the: nio-setting typewhieh is resistant to corrosion and capable er retaining its mitral hardness in the presence of salt water and heat, said insert having sumcient longitudinal rigidity to permit it to be forced into the inlet end of said tube and suEcientiy deformable radially to closely conform to irregudaritles in the crossfssetional contour thereof for absorbing tire inspect-'oi media enterl ing' said tube. I

Means for ircrn corrosion and erosion the inlet end of a tule-e extending through `a header plate of a surface condenser comprising a tubular insert of hard rubber which is resistant to corrosion and capable oi" retaining its initial hardness in the presence 'or' sait Water and heat,

tional contour thereof for absorbing the impact so of media entering said tube.

THOMAS J. BflY. 

